Tag Archives: Unstable Relationships

What’s the Matter with Her?
To the untrained eye, Alex is a little unstable (Just ask the bunny). She throws tantrums, stalks Dan, and becomes violent after a weekend love fest doesn’t turn into anything more substantial. Alex’s behavior can be explained by a personality disorder that specifically focuses on interpersonal relationships.

Borderline Personality Disorder
Despite its name, the border implied by this diagnosis is not explained (It probably doesn’t relate to the Madonna song, but who could say?) This particular personality problem is marked by impulsive behavior and teeter-totter interactions with others. Alex’s symptoms that support this diagnosis include the following:

*Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment

*A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships
This one isn’t clear. The only relationship we get to witness is the one between Alex and Dan, so whether she has a pattern of this is not well-known. One could argue that the only reason an attractive, successful woman is single and alone is because she is crazy (Those people are called ignorant). It is obvious that merely a few days’ fling with a married man puts Alex in an unusual frame of mind. She doesn’t ever discuss friends or family or exes and none of them make appearances. The presence of a pattern can’t be determined, but she is certainly unstable and intense with Dan.

*Impulsivity in at least two areas that are self-damaging
This one is also a little sketchy (Not unlike Alex). She both kidnaps Dan’s child and sleeps with a married man she works with, so both of these could be constituted as potentially self-damaging. Alex also mutilates herself in an effort to keep Dan around.

*Suicidal behavior
That one explains itself.

*Chronic feelings of emptiness
That one also explains itself (Although the electric company probably has a few questions).

*Inappropriate, intense anger
Anyone could argue that being tossed around by a married guy might make somebody angry. However, Alex knows from the get-go that Dan is taken. She seems to acknowledge what she’s getting herself into, but does not want to let go. Instead, her behavior escalates to the point of violence in the name of a relationship between her and Dan that essentially lasted for three days. She inflicts emotional distress on him and his family, as well as physical harm on one of their beloved pets.

Is Alex a Liar?
It’s hard to say (Let’s just go with probably). She tells Dan that she is pregnant, but does not actually show any pregnancy symptoms after the fact. Alex even offers alcohol to Dan when he unexpectedly comes over, though she is not drinking it herself.
Dan tells his friend at work that he called the gynecologist himself and the doctor confirmed the results and he finds a pregnancy test among Alex’s possessions.
Not definitive symptoms of BPD, lying and manipulation sometimes accompany this disorder. In this case, Alex does not appear to be lying about her health state, but she may have intentionally not used protection as a means of manipulating Dan into something more permanent later. Regardless, not insisting on use of birth control definitely constitutes impulsivity on both their parts (The moral of this story is always use protection, ladies and gentlemen).